Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone: Chapter 10
=Halloween = Synopsis Draco Malfoy was annoyed that Harry and his friends escaped without punishment. Harry and Ron speculated keenly on what the package was that the dog was doubtless guarding, though Hermione refused to have anything to do with them. A week or so later, a large parcel is delivered to Harry at the table, along with a note from Professor McGonagall telling him that it's a new broomstick, a Nimbus Two Thousand, and that he's to meet with Oliver Wood for some Quidditch practice. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle accost them in the entrance hall, and Draco predicts that Harry will get in trouble for having a broomstick. Ron taunts Draco about the inferior broomstick he has at home. Draco tries to tell on Harry to Professor Flitwick, but Flitwick knows about Harry's special permission. Harry rubs it in by saying that it's thanks to Draco that he's on the Quidditch team at all. Hermione overhears, and says Harry shouldn't have been rewarded for breaking the rules, but Harry and Ron brush her off. They unwrap the broom after supper, and then Harry heads off to the Quidditch pitch. He takes a practice flight around the pitch before Wood arrives, and comes down to meet him. Wood has a wooden crate with him, and he admires Harry's flying. He says he'll just teach Harry the rules, and he can join regular Quidditch practices after that. Wood shows Harry the various balls used in Quidditch, and tells him about the different players on the team. He tells Harry that he will be a Seeker, and his job will be to catch the Golden Snitch. It's getting close to dusk, so Wood doesn't release the Snitch, but he does throw some small balls through the air for Harry to catch. Wood is impressed with Harry's skill and hopes they have a chance at the Hogwarts Quidditch cup that year. On Hallowe'en Professor Flitwick taught them the levitation charm, Wingardium Leviosa, and had them practice it. Hermione manages it easily, annoying her partner, Ron, but the rest of them have trouble. When Ron describes her as a "nightmare", she overhears, and rushes past them in tears. They later hear, on the way to the Hallowe'en feast in the Great Hall, that she has locked herself up in the girls' toilets. The feast is just starting when Professor Quirrell comes rushing in, terrified, to tell Dumbledore that there's a troll in the dungeons. He then falls down in a dead faint. Dumbledore takes control of the resulting chaos and orders the prefects to take the students back to their dormitories. As Harry and Ron are heading back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry remembers that Hermione wouldn't know about the troll. Ron reluctantly agrees that they should warn her, and they sneak off. On their way to the girls' toilets, they catch a glimpse of Snape heading towards the third floor, and wonder what he's up to. They smell a disgusting odour, and see the troll coming down the hallway. They hide, and it passes them and goes into a room at the end of the hall. They lock the door and are running away when they hear Hermione scream, and realize they've locked her in with the troll. They return to the door, unlock it, and open it. Hermione is huddling against the wall while the troll smashes up the room on its way towards her. Harry and Ron try to distract it, and it ends up going after Ron while Harry tries to rescue Hermione. Ron is trapped against the wall, and Harry leaps onto the troll's back, accidentally sticking his wand up its nose. The troll notices that, and tries to shake Harry off or hit him with the club. Ron desperately casts Wingardium Leviosa at it, and the club flies up into the air and drops back onto the troll's head, knocking it out. Harry recovers his wand and wipes it off. The door crashes open and McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell rush into the room. McGonagall berates Harry and Ron furiously for going after the troll. To their surprise Hermione takes responsibility, saying that she went after the troll on purpose, thinking she could take it out, and Harry and Ron just managed to rescue her. McGonagall is shocked, and penalizes Gryffindor five points, but she gives Ron and Harry five each for their luck in being able to defeat the troll. They returned to Gryffindor Tower to finish their feast, and somehow Ron and Harry were friends with Hermione from that point on. Character List Appearing: *Albus Dumbledore *Crabbe *Draco Malfoy *Fat Lady *Goyle *Harry Potter *Hermione Granger *Lavender Brown *Minerva McGonagall *Neville Longbottom *Oliver Wood *Parvati Patil *Percy Weasley *Professor Flitwick *Professor Quirrell *Ron Weasley *Seamus Finnigan *Severus Snape Mentioned: *Baruffio *Bloody Baron *Charlie Weasley *Fred Weasley *Fluffy* *George Weasley *Peeves Terms Mentioned Places: *Great Hall *Gringotts *Hogwarts *Privet Drive Terms: *Beater *Bludger *Broomstick *Charms *Chaser *Comet Two Sixty *Golden Snitch *Gryffindor *Hufflepuff *Keeper *Muggle *Nimbus Two Thousand *Owl *Prefect *Quaffle *Quidditch *Remembrall *Seeker *Troll *Wand *Weasley *Wingardium Leviosa Plot Points #Quirrell was trying to use the distraction of the troll, which he had let in himself, to get to the Philosopher's Stone. Snape followed after to try to stop him. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone: Chapter 10